We woke up and went to the plaza to buy some masks for our play based on paucartambo. Sandri, Rodrigo and I, we went to buy out breakfast and we bought this yogurt that apparently was ok but really it was like CHEESE! Horrible man, anyway, The big deal begun today with the Entrada. This is the first parade of the festival where all the comparzas approach the church were the virgin is and present themselves to her. However, for this we had to seat on the streets in order to separate our seats. There I found my BPF (best paucartambo friend) Nayeli and I thought her how to draw. The first dance groups that open the festival are always the Maqtas. They don’t have a dance but their job is to open up the space for the other comparzas to dance. They use a whip and Andean clothes. They are one of the few comparsas that can touch and socialize with the audience. After the Maqtas the other comparsas dance in any order and they come with the demanda and the cargo of the comparsas. It was amazing that every comparsa has a different demanda, each costumized according to the danza or to the costume of it. This day was also the day where the famous phrase of CHUNCHOS SU MADRE! Was created, why ? because our dear Sandra is afraid of horse and, today the Chunchos enter to the entrada in horse (as well as the majeños). The "Maq'tas" and the "Q'ollas" are the two dances that whip each other as a punishment or baptism ritual, this is called the "Yawar Unu".
The Randomplatypus is pleased to introduce to all of you the new and famous revolutionary stories that literally change the life of some of the IB Drama-fieles. They are not the chronicles of Narnia, nor the Chronicles of Riddik NAH NAH, this ones are much more interesting, with far more action, music, dancing, pizza, craziness and a LOT LOT of PLATYPUS. Staring, Vale Vela 130 “vao al Puente?”, Sandri “no estoy platypuseada”, Rodrigo “the Teddy Bear”,Diego “negrillos!? DONDE!?!, Felipe “el gringo phillip” and the old drama-fieles : Patty “the brichera” and Luciana “mira un avion” and finally our DT: SHURPERTOU!!!....be prepared for….
THE CHRONICLES OF PAUCARTAMBO
The Maq’ta, the Saqra and the platypus in excess.
Chapter 1: Turbulence at the Airport and the Long Climb to Paucartambo
Tuesday 14 th
6 am and I was already awake. Log on into msn and found vale online: ready for the TRIP!? Bring it on. Let’s make this part as a summary alright? We arrived late to the airport (well Rodrigo and YOU-KNOW-WHO did) and so we lost the plane. Rupert managed to buy some tickets and recover other ones and so finally we were in the plane heading towards Cusco, after 5 hours of “studying at the airport”.When we arrived to Cusco we met Martin, our guide for this trip, and we jumped into a van that took us to Paucartambo….the climb?! It was never-ending; we stopped for the daily PICHI-WALKING, and next stop….. Paucartambo.
We arrived to our 2 stars Hostal (primitiva’s) and we decided our rooms, well actually we all slept in one room (YEAH the five of us), there was the room especially for Vale’s and Sandra’s clothes, another one for Patty and Luciana and another one for Rupert. After that we went out to eat something decent. Paucartambo is not really a BIG town, so getting to the plaza only took us 5 seconds. Around the plaza is where the Guerrilla takes plaza. We then went to the Cathedral or Main Church and there felipe and the others ate their Anticuchito.We found a street that we named the DIAGON ALLEY, where we were expecting to find food but instead we found the Saqra’s house. In here vale and I we talked to the China Saqra (Milagros) and she told us a little bit about them and she even thought us how to dance like them. The saqras are the demons of the festival, however they still have a Demanda (a small box with a virgin inside). The saqras hide from the virgin. Milagros told us that for her to be The China she had to be daughter of Paucartambina, single and without sons/daughters. She presented herself to be the China for 26 years and she is dancing as such for another 6. The Caporal of the Saqras is dancing for 49 years. We also managed to see the Qollas, the Panaderos, the Waka Wakaspractice their dances, and they were all different, however, we saw the even when they practice they are drunk.
We finally went to eat the PIZZAS SAKRA (yeah, not saqra…but Sakra) were we ate pizza for only 6 soles. (right next to the church just in case for you curious reader they have any kind of pizza, you name it, they make it). After that with no further partying we returned to our Hostal and rest. The real adventure started the next day.
themselves to her. However, for this we had to seat on the streets in order to separate our seats. There I found my BPF (best paucartambo friend) Nayeli and I thought her how to draw. The first dance groups that open the festival are always the Maqtas. They don’t have a dance but their job is to open up the space for the other comparzas to dance. They use a whip and Andean clothes. They are one of the few comparsas that can touch and socialize with the audience. After the Maqtas the other comparsas dance in any order and they come with the demanda and the cargo of the comparsas. It was amazing that every comparsa has a different demanda, each costumized according to the danza or to the costume of it. This day was also the day where the famous phrase of CHUNCHOS SU MADRE! Was created, why ? because our dear Sandra is afraid of horse and, today the Chunchos enter to the entrada in horse (as well as the majeños). The "Maq'tas" and the "Q'ollas" are the two dances that whip each other as a punishment or baptism ritual, this is called the "Yawar Unu".
